Challenges for the disaster workforce during a compound hurricane–pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new workforce considerations for emergency management community in addressing cumulative and cascading disasters. This research identifies how emergency management planning for both the changing dynamics of COVID-19 and the upcoming hurricane season may change under a compound threat. Many jurisdictions have faced challenges in providing adequate staffing of shelters before the pandemic. Now, fatigue among staff further exacerbates these challenges as resources are stretched thin. Six workshops, involving 265 national, state, and local leaders, staff, experts, and advocates from 22 states, and a range of disciplines (disaster planning, public health, social services, academia, and healthcare), were convened to identify concerns and potential strategies to address staffing, training, logistics, and support. Strategies proposed to increase the number and skill set of staff available involve increased reliance upon volunteers and nonprofit organizations. Mental health resources, personal protective equipment, sanitation supplies, and defining roles within emergency shelters were recommended to reduce fatigue and redistribute responsibilities. Findings illuminate additional research avenues regarding assessing the underlying stressors contributing to the planning process and effective means of implementing these interventions to bolster emergency management shelter operations during a prolonged pandemic and in the future.

Whose plan is it? The importance of place

The effects of climate change are escalating and developing and maintaining disaster resilience in communities is a major objective. Yet the active involvement of communities as major stakeholders in building their capacity to prepare, respond to and recover from natural hazards has had less focus in emergency management planning. For communities living in hazard-prone areas, the continuity of risk and disaster awareness and the significance of preparation at the local level can be critical to people’s capacity to appropriately respond to disaster events. In 2011, the significant flood event in Brisbane saw community-led response and recovery efforts supported by place-based organisations that traditionally work within communities. However, as communities evolve and change, learnings can dissipate over time. As such, 10 years on from the 2011 floods, how well prepared are communities living in flood-prone areas of Brisbane? This paper outlines how community and stakeholder engagement can develop disaster resilience at the local level. The focus is on strong working relationships between participants in emergency management planning and response including community-based organisations and, by extension, the community.

Disaster Management: A State-of-the-Art Review

Disaster management involves the pillars of emergency management: planning and preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery. Emergencies are serious events that threaten health, life, and property and can be managed within the capabilities of the affected organization. Disasters, on the other hand, are hypercomplex emergencies, requiring resources not immediately available. Disaster management follows the principles of emergency management, and emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and teamwork. Lack of resources will challenge people and organizations both in effects of disasters and the ability to manage them. Poverty, climate change, governance, and education are foundations to improve capacity. Hospitals play an important role in disaster response and can prepare accordingly. Plans, to be effective, must be implemented through appropriately-targeted exercises. Building on an all-hazards approach, to more hazard-specific considerations can improve disaster preparedness as well as day-to-day efficiency. Disaster management is complex and crucial. These principles are explored through the fictional tale of 1Tucci, a coastal city in the worst flood anyone can remember. Well, almost anyone…

Addressing Pluvial Flash Flooding through Community-Based Collaborative Research in Tijuana, Mexico

Pluvial flash flooding (PFF) is a growing hazard facing cities around the world as a result of rapid urbanization and more intense precipitation from global warming, particularly for low-resourced settings in developing countries. We present collaborative modeling (CM) as an iterative process to meet diverse decision-making needs related to PFF through the co-production of flood hazard models and maps. CM resulted in a set of flood hazard maps accessible through an online viewer that end-users found useful and useable for understanding PFF threats, including debris blockages and barriers to mobility and evacuation. End-users of information included individuals concerned with general flood awareness and preparedness, and involved in infrastructure and emergency management, planning, and policy. CM also showed that rain-on-grid hydrodynamic modeling is needed to depict PFF threats in ways that are intuitive to end-users. These outcomes evidence the importance and transferability of public health rationale for community-based research and principles used here including recognizing community as a unit of identity, building on strengths of the community, and integrating knowledge for the benefit of all partners.

Location-Allocation Modeling for Emergency Evacuation Planning in a Smart City Context

The transition of a city to a smart city depends on the preservation of open spaces because they can ensure both a safe and a quality living. In a smart city context, it is important for planners to pre-allocate resources during planning phase in order to satisfy the demand during catastrophic events. Geo-computation approaches can contribute towards the spatial-optimization of urban open-spaces for evacuation purposes in cases of catastrophic events. This work will use a location allocation spatial model to facilitate the planing of urban evacuation actions in Mytilini, Lesvos, Greece. Spatial analysis techniques have evolved during the last decades, mainly due to increased computation resources and other complementary technological advances. In this article, the authors attempt to show the contribution of spatial analysis in emergency management planning towards the smart city vision.

Emergency Management and Communication Improvements

“Active shooter” events are amongst the most dangerous an educational institution can face. Planning for emergencies like this can, to some extent, mitigate the level of harm faced. Using the two cases of shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University, this chapter exemplifies how these incidents highlighted flaws in emergency management planning, training, and communication. Also discussed are the advances in law enforcement tactics following the Columbine shooting. The policy responses to improve emergency management planning, training, and communication are discussed. The work of school safety foundation, I Love U Guys, and smartphone application, LiveSafe, is detailed in relation to ongoing developments in planning for emergencies and communicating threats to the affected populations.